Get into the Night Life at Schoenbrunn at Spring Lantern Tour

  • By Teri Stein
  • May 5, 2013
  • 344
                        
Summary: What happened in the past doesn’t stay in the past at Historic Schoenbrunn Village. Visitors to the spring Lantern Tour will be given a unique opportunity to learn about the activities that took place in the village after dark. Take a trail into the woods by candle light and peek into the past at the spring lantern tour at Historic Schoenbrunn Village. The event is just one of two special lantern tours conducted each year. The spring lantern tour will be held on Sat. May 18 from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. The lantern tour will provide visitors with the opportunity to see life after dark as it was in 18th century Tuscarawas County. “People really enjoy the lantern tours,” said Jacob Masters. “You can see the village during the day and it’s beautiful, but at night it’s a totally different atmosphere. It’s alive. It’s like you’re literally walking in the village in 1772.” Schoenbrunn Village is an important part of Tuscarawas County and Ohio history. The village of Schoenbrunn was the first town in Ohio and was founded on May 3, 1772 by Moravian Missionaries including David Zeisberger. The first church and first school built in Ohio were two of the approximately 60 buildings that made up the original village. At present there are 17 cabins and buildings which were reconstructed. The low wattage lifestyle of the original inhabitants of Schoenbrunn was much different than the lifestyle we enjoy today with just a flip of a switch. “They only had a little bit of light but they were able to do everything they needed to do with the light from only three or four candles,” said Masters. The lantern tours are an opportunity to view a large number of activities with the event attracting many reenactors providing demonstrations in the cabins including woodworking, fiber arts, sewing, candle dipping, basket weaving, and butter churning. Other volunteers will provide a display of herbs used by the villagers and Revolutionary War reenactors are also scheduled to attend. A new activity added this year allows visitors to explore a trail through the woods that leads to the camp of a traveler staying outside the village. Visitors will be able to sample the tastes of the village including Moravian sugar cakes and fresh churned butter. Be sure not to miss the gardens at the village. A three sisters garden containing beans, corn, and squash, the staples of the villager’s diet has been planted as well as some medicinal herb beds. Other beds are just beginning to come to life; new volunteers are always needed to help care for them. “There are volunteer opportunities for everyone,” said Michelle Hallman. Volunteers are needed to mow, act as tour guides, provide demonstrations in the cabins, work in the gift shop or help with special events. Volunteers who provide 40 hours of service per year receive a membership in the Ohio Historical Society. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer call the Dennison Railroad Depot Museum office at 740-922-6776. Monthly volunteer meetings are held on the last Tuesday of each month usually at Schoenbrunn Village if the weather permits. Volunteers can also be put on an email list to receive information too. In addition to the Spring Lantern tour upcoming events at Schoenbrunn include a Children’s Day with activities and crafts in June, and a number of activities in the fall including the Fall Lantern Tour, the Colonial Trade Fair, and Washington Irving’s Sleepy Hollow, an outdoor drama presented in October by the glow of a bonfire. For more information visit www.facebook.com/HistoricSchoenbrunnVillage.


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